Your rights at the departure airport
All passengers whose flight is delayed compared to the time displayed on the ticket are entitled to a pick-up at the airport of departure. This assistance consists first of the distribution of refreshments and snacks and the possibility of making calls for free. If necessary, the airline must also provide a hotel room and transfers.
This obligation to take charge is not valid from the first minute of delay, however: depending on the length of your flight, you will have to wait longer or shorter. For trips of less than 1500 kilometers, the flight must be 2 hours or more late, 3 hours for flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometers. For all flights outside the European Union of more than 3500 kilometers, the delay must be at least 4 hours.
The airline company can refuse or assume a partial payment if this obligation risks more seriously impacting the delay. After 5 hours of waiting, a passenger is entitled to give up his trip and request a refund of his ticket. In the event of a stopover, he is also entitled to request repatriation to the country of departure only if the airline borrowed is part of the European Union.
Compensation for your delayed flight
It is possible to obtain compensation if your flight is delayed, under certain strict conditions. In this case, it is not the delay on departure that applies, but the delay on arrival: the flight must arrive at least 3 hours late to be eligible for compensation.
The compensation also depends on your place of departure and arrival. All departures from France and the EU are entitled to compensation regardless of the origin of the airline but if you are leaving from a country outside the EU, this rule only applies if the company is part of the EU. For a trip outside the EU, you cannot request financial compensation.
The amount of compensation depends on the length of your trip. For a flight of 1500 kilometers or less, you are entitled to 250 euros and this amount increases to 400 euros for a flight between 1500 and 3500 kilometers. For trips over 3500 kilometers, you can claim compensation of 400 euros if your destination is within the EU and 600 euros for destinations outside the EU.
How do I get compensation?
From the date of your trip, you have 5 years to make a claim for compensation. To get it, you must You must send your request by registered letter to your carrier, specifying the date of your trip, your flight number and the departure and arrival airports. The airline company must answer you within two months and give a favorable response or not to your file.
If your claim is denied and that you consider that the answer is unjustified, you can file a new request with the General Directorate of Civil Aviation by attaching a cerfa 13675 * 01 form. Remember to attach all the documents necessary to process your file: reservation, certificate from the carrier, request and refusal.
There have also been many platforms (such as Airhelp) who can do this for you. No application fees are required: the platforms are generally remunerated on a percentage of what you manage to obtain from the company.
Share your experiences ...
If you have ever experienced a flight delay or received compensation for your trip, please feel free to review your experience. Finally, be aware that this compensation is not only valid for flight delays but also for cancellations or denied boarding.
